Surviving the apocalypse with a wife and a system! [GL]

Chapter 262: Living together.

The older woman was quiet for a while before saying, "Living together is not a bad idea. There are only a few days of water left. If we keep wasting time, it will be worse later."

Yan Cijin did not answer right away. She lowered her eyes and gently rubbed the little girl’s back with one hand. The child had started humming softly to herself, already comfortable and happy again after dinner. Looking at that small back, Yan Cijin knew there was no room for casual thinking anymore. She had to consider safety, stability, food, water, and everything else all at once. If Bai Li’s place truly had better water treatment and stronger security, then there was no reason to keep refusing just because she was used to living alone. A person could be stubborn, but stubbornness did not keep anyone alive. That was something the world would teach people very fast once it stopped pretending to be normal.

Bai Li saw the change in Yan Cijin’s expression and did not disturb her. Instead, she leaned back and let the room grow a little quieter. The silence was not awkward. It was the kind that settled when everyone was thinking about the same thing in different ways. Outside the window, the evening light had already started to fade, and the building looked softer and more distant under the darkening sky. Somewhere in the hall, someone was moving water containers. Someone else was arguing in a low voice. A child laughed once, then stopped. These sounds were normal now, but each one carried a little bit of tension under the surface. Bai Li listened for a second and then turned her attention back to the people in front of her. She was not in a rush to force a decision tonight, but she also knew the window for careful planning was not very long. Things would get messier soon. The sooner Yan Cijin and LiLi moved, the easier it would be to settle in before the outside world got worse.

LiLi, still full of energy after dinner, climbed onto Bai Li’s lap again and started asking about the things she had brought back. "Auntie, what is in your bag?"

"Useful things," Bai Li answered.

"What useful things?"

"Bread, canned food, some frozen meat, and a few other things."

The little girl listened with very serious eyes, then nodded as if she understood everything. "Then I want to eat them too."

Bai Li laughed. "You already had enough for now."

"Not enough," the child said with great confidence.

Yan Cijin put a hand on her forehead and sighed. "This child, she only remembers food."

"That is not true," LiLi said immediately. "I also remember Auntie."

That answer made Bai Li’s heart feel oddly soft again. She raised a hand and gently tapped the girl’s nose. "Then I will remember LiLi too."

The little girl giggled and buried herself into Bai Li again. Yan Cijin looked at them and found herself thinking that the room had not felt this lively in a while. Ever since the strange changes outside started, everyone had been on edge. Even at home, there had always been some kind of tension. But now, with Bai Li here and the little girl clinging to her like a tiny tail, the air was different. It felt a little like the house was still alive in a way that could survive what was coming.

Bai Li stayed a little longer after the meal, helping tidy the kitchen and then sitting with them in the living room while the little dumpling played with a toy block set on the carpet. Yan Laojin went to check some of the stored supplies, counting them carefully and muttering to herself about what would need to be used first. Yan Cijin finally went to the side table and picked up the two bags she had prepared earlier. She had actually already packed a few things in advance, just in case. When Bai Li saw that, she raised her eyebrows a little. Yan Cijin caught the look and said, "What?"

"So you had already been thinking about it," Bai Li said.

"I was thinking about options," Yan Cijin replied. Her face stayed calm, but there was a slight warmth in her ears that she did not bother hiding.

Bai Li smiled. "That means you are more serious than you look."

Yan Cijin glanced at her. "You talk too much."

"But you like listening."

That made Yan Cijin pause for half a second before she looked away, and Bai Li nearly laughed. The little dumpling, who had no idea what the adults were talking about, kept building a tower with her blocks and talking to herself. The whole scene was so normal that it almost felt unreal. Bai Li watched it for a while and thought that this was exactly why she wanted them to move. A real home was not just walls and locks. It was the kind of place where a child could sit on the floor and play without fear, where a woman could wash her hands without worrying about every drop of water, and where people could talk about tomorrow without hearing the outside world shake against the door. That kind of peace was worth protecting.

After a while, Bai Li stood up and said she should head back for now so she could prepare the place properly. Since Yan Cijin had already packed a little, they might as well use the next day to move some of the important things over piece by piece. She was speaking in a relaxed tone, but the plan was already forming clearly in her mind. She would go back, clear out some space, check the water system again, and make sure the storage areas were ready. She would also need to sort out the supplies she had brought from outside and figure out what could be shared and what needed to stay hidden. The apartment she was living in was safer than this one in several ways, but the apocalypse had a way of forcing people to keep thinking one step ahead.

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TO BE CONTINUED.